Historic 1909 Colorado mountain inn with multiple reported paranormal entities across three floors
8136 Brook Forest Rd, Evergreen, CO 80439
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$
Bed and breakfast rates vary by season and room selection
Access
Wheelchair OK
Mountain setting on 350 acres, uneven terrain
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1909 · 1909 Homestead to 1919 Inn Conversion · National Register of Historic Places 2009 · Continuously Operating Mountain Inn · Colorado Hospitality Pioneer
The Brook Forest Inn occupies a parcel of Colorado mountain property with a documented history spanning over a century. The origins trace to 1909 when a small cabin was constructed on 350 acres that had been filed as a homestead by the Westerfield family. The harsh Colorado winters proved an unexpected adversary; a particularly severe winter forced the family to abandon their land and homestead claim.
In the aftermath of Westerfield departure, Edwin and Riggi Welz discovered the vacant property and saw opportunity. The Welzes took possession of the land and initiated development toward commercial hospitality use. In 1919, they formally opened the Brook Forest Inn, positioning it as a destination for mountain travelers seeking respite and lodging. The property's amenities—running water, electricity, and private bathing facilities—represented significant advantages during the early 20th century, attracting clientele from Denver's growing urban population.
The inn's architectural character reflects its origins: a three-story timber-and-stone structure designed to harmonize with the mountain landscape while providing durable shelter for Colorado's variable climate. The building's construction employed local materials and craftsmanship typical of early 20th-century mountain resort architecture.
From 1919 onward, the Brook Forest Inn operated continuously as a hospitality establishment, with the exception of brief periods when circumstances forced closure. This continuity of operation across over a century distinguishes the property as one of Colorado's oldest continuously operating mountain inns.
The interior was progressively appointed with unique décor and features appropriate to mountain hospitality: sixteen distinct guest rooms, many featuring either jetted bathtubs or vintage claw-foot tubs reflecting various historical periods. The architectural integrity of the original structure was maintained while modernizing specific systems for guest comfort.
On July 29, 2009—nearly a century after its opening—the Brook Forest Inn was formally recognized by inclusion on both the National Register of Historic Places and the Colorado State Register of Historic Properties. This official recognition affirmed the structure's cultural and historical significance.
Paradoxically, the inn's historical longevity and authentic period architecture may contribute to its haunted reputation. The building's age, its authentic materials and design, and its consistent operation through Colorado's changing 20th-century history create an atmospheric environment where historical events seem to echo in physical space.
Sources
Brook Forest Inn's paranormal reputation, collected by regional paranormal investigators and local sources such as the Larry Hotz Evergreen history site and Haunted Colorado, centers on a cluster of reported presences spread across three floors.
On the third floor, local legend describes the residual imprint of a violent incident involving an inn employee and a stable hand employed on the property during the inn's early years of operation. The exact date and circumstances given in published accounts vary — different sources place the event in different decades and describe the method differently — and no primary historical documentation (newspaper reports, coroner's records, or county archives) has been located to confirm the identities or dates. We present the story as folklore that has circulated in regional accounts rather than as a documented historical incident.
The lore places a female presence in the third-floor rooms — reported as a cold spot, a feeling of emotional weight, or occasionally a translucent figure — and a male presence near the stairwell ascending to that floor, described as more assertive and occasionally blocking passage. A third entity on the third floor is identified in multiple accounts as a child who died from influenza or a similar illness; this spirit is described as mischievous rather than threatening, associated with running footsteps in hallways and moved objects.
The second floor is associated with a female presence in a specific guest room. Paranormal investigators with the AFSPR (American Foundation for Scientific Paranormal Research) and the Rocky Mountain Paranormal Research Society conducted investigations in this room and documented significant magnetic anomalies inconsistent with the building's baseline electromagnetic environment. Guests describe overwhelming cold, sensations of pressure, and physical discomfort in that space.
The combination of consistent multi-floor reports and instrument-recorded anomalies has made Brook Forest Inn one of the more frequently investigated historic properties in Colorado. Activity is described as both residual — recurring cold spots and footsteps in the same locations — and intelligent, with apparitions that appear to respond to presence.
Notable Entities
Experience the Brook Forest Inn's 16 uniquely decorated rooms, many with jetted tubs or vintage claw-foot bathtubs. Stay in a building constructed in 1909 with multiple reported paranormal entities across three floors. Check-in from 4:00 PM, checkout at 4:00 PM.
Dine in the historic inn restaurant while experiencing the atmospheric setting where paranormal activity has been documented. The property's long operational history provides continuity with the events that shaped its haunted reputation.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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